UNITED STATES TO TAKE ON FRANCE AND JO-WILFRIED TSONGA IN DAVIS CUP BATTLE THIS WEEKEND ON TENNIS CHANNEL

Tennis Channel will provide exclusive coverage of the U.S. Davis Cup team’s quarterfinal competition against France in Monaco, this weekend, with live and same-day, “Instant Encore” replays Friday through Sunday. John Isner, World No. 11, leads a U.S. team of tennis up-and-comer Ryan Harrison and top-ranked doubles brothers Bob and Mike Bryan against France’s World No. 6, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The French will face the Americans for the first time since its 2008 upset at the same stage in the competition.

The meeting will consist of two singles matches on Friday, April 6, at 6 a.m. ET, followed by the doubles match Saturday, April 7, at 8 a.m. Tennis Channel’s coverage concludes with the remaining singles play Sunday, April 8, at 5 a.m. Each of the five matches is worth one point, with the team that wins at least three points advancing to the semifinals to face either Spain or Austria September 14-16. Each afternoon Tennis Channel will offer an encore presentation of the day’s Davis Cup action.

The United States and France have one of the oldest Davis Cup rivalries, first playing in 1905. The two nations have met 15 times in Davis Cup play, with the United States holding a 8-7 advantage. The most recent meeting was at the same stage of play in 2008 when the United States upset the French team 4-1 in Winston-Salem, N.C. France’s only home loss to the United States was in the 1982 final. The United States enters this weekend’s match after defeating Switzerland 5-0 in Fribourg, Switzerland. The Americans are looking to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2008. The United States leads all nations with 23 Davis Cup titles, the most recent in 2007.

Leading the U.S. team is Captain Jim Courier, who as a player helped the American squad win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995. John Isner enters this weekend’s competition after an impressive win over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., before falling to Roger Federer. Teenager Ryan Harrison came one step closer to winning his first pro title when he advanced to the semifinals at the SAP Open in San Jose before losing to eventual champion Milos Raonic. The world’s top-ranked doubles team, twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, continue to be the world’s most dominant pair, capturing their eleventh Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon last year.

France is bidding to reach its third-consecutive semifinal and win its tenth Davis Cup crown. The French team enters this weekend’s matchup after a 4-1 victory over Canada in Vancouver. France’s team is captained by Guy Forget and features World No. 6 Tsonga, Gilles Simon, Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 video providers.